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| This book is so cool! |
"Within these pages the artists and writers involved tell you what it was like for them to dive into this material and with their hands, their minds, give it a new continuity to propel these timeless themes and stories into the world you and I are now occupying. You will see what did not make it onto the covers, rough ideas, outtakes, the excellent and the my-god-man-what-were-you-thinking?
This book is a celebration of the marriage of beautiful Art & Design and powerful iconic Literature. There will always be ways to experience things anew -- the fun is finding those who want to help you do exactly that." - Paul Buckley, Classic Penguin: Cover to Cover, Introduction
This book is a celebration of the marriage of beautiful Art & Design and powerful iconic Literature. There will always be ways to experience things anew -- the fun is finding those who want to help you do exactly that." - Paul Buckley, Classic Penguin: Cover to Cover, Introduction
The Sum of It:
Obvi this is not a book of crime fiction, but we're considering this post a public service announcement for all the book folk out there (and their friends and family on the lookout for a good birthday gift this year)!
I'm pretty sure we're all book lovers here, so it seems safe to say that we not only enjoy their contents, the moving, clever, insightful, beautiful words that make up their stories, but we also love them for their exteriors. As we've gotten to know #bookstagram, we've seen so many posts about readers finding yet another beautiful copy of a favorite book, often even posting photos of many different copies of a beloved tale together. This book is an ode to that love, of books as objects of beauty, in addition to their intrinsic value. It travels through a wide range of beautiful classic Penguin covers, from the iconic orange bands to recent redesigns of classic authors, including Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Graham Greene, and so many more. In addition to showcasing the beautiful covers, this book allows the designers to talk about their work, how they approached each cover, and in many cases shares earlier drafts of different covers as well as thoughts from editors and designers on how the final choice was made. It's super fascinating to learn more about the process of bringing book covers to life in such a way that really speaks to the book's themes and content, and draws in readers.
The YOA Treatment:
It was such fun to pore through this beautiful book. While I've seen many of these covers in real life, it was so cool to catch a glimpse of others I haven't had a chance to see yet, and add them to my wishlist! It was also just so interesting to learn about how an editor pairs a designer with a particular book or author, knowing that either the designer has a style that reflects the writer's prose, or does a great job with images that will really parallel a book's themes. Even though we're all well familiar with the old adage, "don't judge a book by its cover," so often a cover's look is the first step to encouraging a reader to pick it up, and check out what's inside. It's wonderful to read these designer's thoughts on the deep responsibility they feel to accurately reflect an author's work so that the cover functions as a window onto the words inside. We just know you'll love spending some time with this book over a cup of tea or a glass of wine, and it will make you pay even more attention to the beautiful covers that pull you in!
- E.
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